


It's Not Me, Chanyeol

by byunandyeol



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Ambiguous/Open Ending, Angst, Baekhyun is basically a ghost but he also appears in mirrors, But Baekhyun is "dead", But just in the end, Chanyeol is obsessed, Coma, Demons, Ghosts, M/M, Minor Oh Sehun/Park Chanyeol, Mirrors, Mystery, Not literally, Park Chanyeol-centric, There is really no major character death, Thriller, X-EXO Clone Byun Baekhyun, X-EXO Clone Park Chanyeol
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:33:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 20,412
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27125914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/byunandyeol/pseuds/byunandyeol
Summary: When Chanyeol moved into his new apartment - although shabby, cheap and creepy - he was excited. But he never knew he would gain a roommate: a ghost.
Relationships: Byun Baekhyun/Park Chanyeol, Oh Sehun/Park Chanyeol
Comments: 10
Kudos: 53
Collections: EXO MONSTERFEST 2020





	It's Not Me, Chanyeol

**Author's Note:**

> **Prompt: #O55**
> 
> Author's note: Hello! Thank you for clicking on my work and deciding to give it a try. The fic is one hell of a ride and it does have a very ambiguous ending which was not planned in the beginning. Whew, it was such a ride. It fits the Halloween theme, so I hope you enjoy reading it :)
> 
> This bad boy soaked up my blood and my tears throughout the writing process and to be honest, I was so close to hating this fic, but my beta, B, who sealed with a ton of grammatical mistakes, always had the right words and helped me immensely. I would dedicate this fic to my beta.
> 
> A big, fat thank you to the Mods for organising the fest! You are doing God's work, for sure.
> 
> And thank you to my prompter. The fic may have turned out a bit different from the initial prompt, I have no idea how it managed to turn out the way it has turned out, but here is my monster. A true monster. I'm sorry if I haven't given prompt justice; the words were writing themselves, I couldn't control it.

Chanyeol, are you sure you’re going to be okay here all alone? This place doesn’t seem that safe to me, honey… the locks alone are a danger for people! What if some robbers end up breaking in?!” Mrs. Park was busy wiping down the huge mirror that hung on the bedroom wall. She was still mad that Chanyeol decided to spontaneously buy a flat without his parent’s approval.

It was nothing fancy; a studio apartment with a grey kitchen and living room combined, sunlight blocked by a building next to the apartment, a small, yet comfortable bathroom and a big bedroom with a queen bed. 

All of the furniture was already there, and Mrs. Park had already ranted about the possible reason as to why it was left behind by the previous student.

The whole building attracted mostly students who studied in the SNU, a ten-minute walk up the hill. The place also had a fair rent price and was close to the campus, which made it perfect for Chanyeol. 

He was honestly tired from waking up at five o’clock in the morning to go across the whole city in order to get to his classes on time. So, of course, when he was given enough money to choose between buying either a car or an apartment for his twentieth birthday, he immediately went looking for a place to live. 

Nothing had fit his standards when suddenly his close – well, not really, but they did hang out a couple of times after classes – friend approached him and told him there was a flat next to his that was up for rent. The price was cheap, the location ideal, however, there was the downside of the poor looking exterior of the building and loud neighbours that partied until dawn. Still, it was his own place where he could do anything his heart desires.

“Mom, nothing will happen to me. I’ll change the locks and everything would be fine. You don’t have to overthink everything,” Chanyeol sighed.

He was currently busy moving boxes and unpacking all the necessary stuff. His mother volunteered to help him clean the apartment and make it presentable. Jongdae, who ended up being his neighbour, also helped unpack boxes. The place was starting to look nicer with each passing hour – the only room left uncleaned was his bedroom.

Chanyeol gasped when he tugged on a squeaky door and saw there was a walk-in closet with hangers left behind. He threw those away since he bought his own, but the place had so much space he wouldn’t have to worry about clothes not being able to fit into the dresser. The same dresser that was now in the hallway. 

“Hey, Chanyeol. The light bulb decided to burst, your mother and I will go to the- what the fuck is this?” Jongdae joined him, looking around the closet that had spider webs and dust all over the closet shelves. “Ew, fucking gross, man. How did you even find it?”

Chanyeol chuckled and showed him the door that was hidden by a mirror. The mirror was cracked in one corner, but other than that, it was in a good condition. 

Chanyeol still wondered who lived here, though. “I don’t know, just found it randomly. Oh, by the way, who was living here before me?”

“No idea. When I moved in, the place was already empty. The landlord told me that the guy that lived here just disappeared. Maybe he moved away. Besides, why should you care? Even though the flat is a bit crusty and creepy-looking with spider webs, it’s still a good place. You should be happy.”

“I am.” Chanyeol rolled his eyes. “Now I can kick your ass whenever I want.”

“Nah, try me. Oh, and Park.” Jongdae shifted from side to side, not knowing where to place his hand since everything was filthy. “Get rid of that mirror.”

“Did my mom convince you to say that? You sound just like her.” Chanyeol went out of the closet, observing the now clean mirror. “Is it because of the crack, huh? She still believes it’s bad to have a mirror like that.”

Jongdae followed and stood next to him. His whole form gave away how nervous he got upon mentioning the stupid mirror. 

Chanyeol didn’t give a damn about the whole ‘bad sign’ thing, but both his mother and Jongdae were giving him a headache with it. 

“No, she didn’t.” Jongdae bit his lip, probably deciding what to say next. “You know what? Yeah. This is stupid. Your mother is just convincing.”

“Oh, I get you-”  Chanyeol replied, ready to complain about his mother's antics but Jongdae interrupted him.

“Anyway, I gotta go. See you later!” Jongdae was quick to pat Chanyeol’s shoulder and pick up his denim jacket before storming out of the flat. 

Chanyeol could hear his mother calling for the other and he realized that Jongdae had been saying something about that light bulb-

“Mom?” Chanyeol found her staring at his pictures that he hung up on the wall. She gently traced his framed face with her hand, turning at the source of the voice and moving away as if she was caught red-handed for doing something illegal. “Uh, Jongdae got something important to do, so I guess it’s just you and me now? I kind of want to finish everything and call it a day. You’re tired of cleaning, I can see that. I’ll finish everything by myself.”

“Oh, honey, this place has me feeling dead tired. It’s so filthy. Are you sure you want to live here?” She looked at the walls where the paint was cracking and falling down, creating a mess on the dirty floor.

“Yes, I’m sure. It’s going to be alright.” Chanyeol reassured her. 

“Okay, then. I won’t bother you with that anymore. Just- Just make sure you eat something other than cup noodles and get enough sleep.” She took off her cleaning gloves and placed them on the counter. “I’ll get going. Your father is waiting for me outside anyway. Be safe, my little baby,” Chanyeol chuckled at her choice of words and crouched down in order for her to kiss him on the cheek. “Bye, honey.”

Chanyeol walked her down to the car and hugged his father. Both of his parents were close to tears and Chanyeol tried his hardest in order not to cry. 

He’s always been close to his parents and although they still lived in the same city, it felt like he was moving to another planet. 

He promised to call them in the evening and made sure to take care of himself when there is no one to remind him about it.

With that, they parted ways. 

Chanyeol went to the convenience store to grab something to cook for dinner and fill in his empty fridge (which was technically his parents’ old fridge, but that didn’t matter). 

He also picked up some new light bulbs in case the others will decide to burst as well when it gets dark outside; the chance of staying in an already shabby place with no lights for the night did not excite him. 

After finishing his little shopping adventure, he returned home, meeting a neighbour along the way.

“Hey,” The man – it was certainly not a female voice – called him when he proceeded to open his door. His face was covered with a dark hood that was stained with something Chanyeol didn’t want to know. The guy seemed either high, drunk, or both, by the way, he slurred out the words. “You live here now?”

_ I don’t want to talk to him.  _

“Yeah, what about it?” he got ready in case the guy continued snooping around, but the latter just shrugged and disappeared in his apartment. 

_ Fucking drug addict. This is why the place is so cheap. _

Shrugging everything off, Chanyeol got inside the flat and sighed at the view: the place was still disgustingly dirty. 

He got to work right away, trying to scrub off all the dust and dirt that seemed to be stuck to the walls since the beginning of life on Earth. The person who lived here sure didn’t care about looks and cleanliness, maybe he was just out all the time, getting drunk on parties and fucking around. Plenty of students did that, including Chanyeol. 

He was civil and didn’t try drugs that were offered to ‘reach that safe place’. His safe place was getting drunk with someone close to him and eating kimchi-fried rice in the morning to calm down his hungover state. And he was fine with that. 

After all, he did work his ass off to be able to get in SNU and become a lawyer. All of those sleepless nights shouldn’t be wasted and ignored.

Stacking up the fridge and counters with fresh food and snacks, Chanyeol cooked himself a simple meal and ate while talking to his mom who asked too many questions.

He understood her, he was her child and she was just worried for him, but he couldn’t just listen to her ranting all evening. He still needed to clean the bedroom and the closet to place all of his clothes in and try to fix the light bulb in the bathroom. Only then, he will get out his books, notebooks and a laptop. 

Oh, he also needs to check the bed for anything like bugs and rats – who knows what happened here after the person moved out. The landlord didn’t look like he cared about what kind of people lived here.

_ You’re stressing out too much, Chanyeol. The place is cheap and good, even with the smell of dust and oldness that is still present. The cracking paint shouldn’t be a bother for you, as well as the spider webs inside of that closet. The place just hasn’t been cleaned thoroughly and you are doing just that. Finish your meal and get to work. _

He entered his bedroom and eyed it suspiciously. 

The smell still bothered him, so he opened the windows to let some light inside it. He also noticed that the bed was right near the window and the desk should ideally occupy the place if he wants some natural lighting when he’s going to do his homework. 

With that, he moved the bed frame, praying that no animals, bugs or something along those lines will run out from under the bed and scare the shit out of him. Maybe someone was up there, in the skies, and he heard his prayers because no one escaped and the place was oddly clean. The carpeted floor just squeaked a little bit, but that’s nothing compared to the walls. 

The place is just  _ old _ .

Chanyeol moved the heavy desk to the window, enjoying how the layout reminded him of his old room. The bed was facing opposite of the mirror and the walk-in closet. It looked nice. 

Chanyeol cleaned everything; lit up an aroma candle his sister gave to him to mask the still lingering smell of something nasty. It was here, in this room.  _ Please, not a dead animal. _

He fished out some command hooks and placed them on an empty wall near his bed, deciding that his posters could wait. He was just so tired and he still needed to unpack his clothes, get the mattress to the room, place the bedsheets and charge his laptop. 

School stuff will be unpacked tomorrow with the help of Jongdae, he hopes.

With that, Chanyeol set his plan and started to carefully place all of his clothes on the shelves, bothered by the floor constantly squeaking under him. A particular spot – near the furthest closet shelf – was extremely loud and it made Chanyeol so furious and annoyed. 

He was pretty done with the flat already due to his tiredness of constant cleaning. And he was nowhere near done; he just did the essential things today.

The place was dark, if he had to be honest with himself. His mother was right. The building next to his apartment prevented the sunlight from entering. 

The kitchen was the darkest place. The bathroom was tiny, smelled awful and got mold on the shower walls. For Chanyeol, who grew up in comfort and cleanness, this was just unbearable. He would have to do a lot of work if he wanted to stay here and live comfortably.

However, he couldn’t whine about it. 

After all, it was his decision to move out, it was his decision not to bother his parents and ask them to pay for something expensive. He was responsible for everything and he needs to face problems like an adult. Not a whiny brat.

A loud sound of a slamming window made him drop a pair of folded jeans. He walked out of the closet and realized that the bedroom window is now shut.  _ The wind probably closed it.  _

Shrugging, he went back to business, only for the closet light bulb to explode just before he could step inside.

Yeah, good thing that he bought extras.

When he was passing the mirror, he noticed something weird in the corner of it, reminding him of a hand, but that couldn’t be true. He was tired and this was just his brain telling him to go have a rest.

He finished unpacking his clothes when it hit midnight. Observing the furnished room and liking it a bit more, Chanyeol decided to finally go to sleep. 

It still reminded him of a place that would appear on a show like ‘Let’s renovate the house’, but in the end, it was all his.

He never really thought about this side. 

The apartment was his little baby, and it meant freedom. He was finally dictating his own life and was free from his mom’s constant supervising. He remembered all those parties he had to pass because he was embarrassed to show up completely drunk to the house and waking up his parents when he wasn’t able to control his long lanky limbs. 

He could bear with the downsides of the flat. In the end, he planned to decorate everything and that could cover the walls.

Chanyeol grabbed a loose t-shirt and some sweats and headed to the bathroom.

The desire to wash the day away was so strong he was ready to jump out of his skin. He and his clothes were covered in dust, dirt and sweat, and that alone made him nauseous. He turned on the water and quickly undressed, ready to jump into the hot water. A small mirror above the sink only confirmed it, showing how dirty he was. 

Breaking the gaze away from his reflection, Chanyeol already stepped into the shower when he saw a strange shadow near him. Looking behind and not seeing anything, Chanyeol blamed it on his own brain playing tricks with him and began washing up.

The hot water relaxed his tensed and tired muscles and cleared his head from the negativity. Strangely enough, never in his life did he feel so down about something.

He always tried to find positive things to cheer everyone up, but today he was adding on to the negative words his mother said when looking around the apartment the moment they stepped inside. After that, it seemed like the whole atmosphere began to weigh down on his shoulders, making it hard to breathe and walk into the rooms.

At the same time, it may not even be that deep.

Chanyeol never, seriously,  _ never _ , was negative about things that happened in his life; he liked to see only the positive side, explaining that focusing on negativity just made life harder for people. So, coming from that, he only overworked himself today.

Chanyeol kept this thought in his head as he prepared his bed and turned Netflix on to catch up on his favourite series and to relax. 

He wasn’t able to last through the whole thing because his eyelids felt like rocks, threatening to close. His brain also refused to focus on the storyline as it was too tired to function properly.

Seeing that, Chanyeol quickly closed his laptop and put it on the desk, getting comfortable to fall asleep.

When he was already closing his eyes, he missed a tiny reflection of a face that was looking at him through the mirror.

***

Chanyeol jolted awake in the morning since he felt like he was falling down. 

The feeling was still present in his mind and he touched the bed to make sure he’s still laying on it. Whenever he had those dreams, the day would be filled with him thinking about it until he focuses on something more important to forget it. The fear of falling was making his heart thump against his chest, the sound of it lingering in his ears.

He got up to shake everything away and grab a glass of water. 

Checking the time, Chanyeol found out it was already noon, meaning he slept a lot due to his tiredness. Strangely enough, he didn’t wake up at night because of noisy neighbours. It was quite peaceful and even the roaring sounds of lonely cars that passed the building were soothing for the student.

He turned on the kitchen lights, going to the fridge to pour himself a glass of water, but the electricity went off when he stepped near the fridge.  _ What a way to start the fucking day. _

Chanyeol wanted to complain more, but everything returned to normal. Jongdae mentioned that these things were normal here and that he shouldn’t really mind it.

Not feeling like eating, Chanyeol called his mother and texted Jongdae, asking whether the music major was free tonight to celebrate his freedom. The reply came back quickly and he was greeted with a loud audio message from Jongdae (and his love for whining) about getting too drunk to walk up the stairs without vomiting everywhere.

_ ‘deal with it and stop being a baby, Dae’  _ was all Chanyeol sent before deciding that he should continue cleaning the place before going out.

And true to his words, with regained strength he was able to clean the mold, put on some shower curtains, mop the bathroom floor and even organized his stuff on the desk. The last step was to decorate everything and he did just that. 

Now, the flat was screaming Chanyeol.

CDs and old vintage records were decorating his bedroom along with posters of his favourite singers. All the cracks on the walls in the hallway were covered with either small paintings or family pictures that he took with him in order not to get sappy about his family. 

He also placed a few pots with plans on the kitchen counter to brighten up the whole atmosphere. The kitchen cabinets were filled with cutlery and funky plates he found when shopping in an indie store.

The living room, though, still had a hideous couch that wasn’t made for sitting. It ruined the whole vibe, but it was too damn heavy to be carried out to the dumpster nearby.

While waiting for the evening to come, Chanyeol occupied himself with homework and movies, throwing casual glances on the mirror from time to time that mimicked his actions. 

He was still getting used to the fact that there will be movement near him, but the mirror was too good to be thrown away.

Later that night, he and Jongdae celebrated in a bar and got drunk. 

Jongdae was currently barely walking, head on Chanyeol’s shoulder who dragged him. He drank too much vodka and danced too hard, trying to impress someone Chanyeol didn’t recognize among the crowd of faceless people. 

He himself was barely standing straight, cursing at Jongdae for putting on weight, the shorter one seemed to weigh as much as an elephant would.

Chanyeol dropped Jongdae in front of his own apartment, waking the music major up by the action. 

Chanyeol just waved Jongdae goodbye and went to his door, struggling with the key, and even when the key was inside the lock, the door refused to open.

He tugged on it as much as he could, but his actions were nothing to the piece of furniture. Chanyeol kept his promise and changed the lock on the door, so maybe he was putting the wrong key in?

No, he threw that key out. Then why can’t he enter his home?

“J-Jongdae-“ The taller turned around to look for his friend who, judging by an empty hallway, already went inside. “Shit. Open up, stupid piece of wood.” He continued to thrash the key around until the door squeaked and opened, letting him in.

“The fuck-“ Chanyeol turned on the lights which immediately started flickering. “What the hell, man. This isn’t The Conjuring,” Chanyeol just giggled at his own joke drunkenly. “Yeah, good one. A shame that there is no one who could hear it.” 

The light suddenly started flickering again much more rapidly.

Choosing to ignore it, Chanyeol went to the bathroom to splash some water on his face and hopefully wash away the drunkenness.

He looked at his own reflection, seeing a young man with an unfocused gaze. 

His hair was curling from humidity, but the colour didn’t match his natural hair colour (he was rocking a soft brown colour for almost a year now). With a confused face, Chanyeol only tried to focus his gaze on the reflection, panicking when he saw a hand on his shoulder that clearly didn’t belong to him. 

There was also another shadow, much smaller than him, and the scariest part of it – as if Chanyeol wasn’t ready to shit his pants already – was the fact that the shape of the head of the second shadow was moving, looking at him and then gazing on the mirror.

Chanyeol breathed out shakily and looked at the mirror again, seeing a face behind him.

Not quite believing his eyes at the moment, Chanyeol turned around but found no one. But when he looked at his reflection again, his face was replaced with the face of a young man with dead eyes and pale skin that resembled the colour of Chanyeol’s pristine white sheets.

With a scream, the student scrambled from the bathroom, not looking where he was going. He ended up tripping and hitting the trash can that fell with a loud thud. He couldn’t bring himself to care, now completely sober from the scene he just witnessed.

He came to the bedroom, looking around. Maybe his mind wasn’t playing tricks on him and there was someone else in here. 

Did he lock the door? He did. Did someone break in then?

“W-Who’s there?” He asked loudly, continuing to look around in hope to spot someone. His reflection moved with him.

“I will call the police!” Again, no answer. 

The lights started to flicker in the living room.

Chanyeol breathed in, ready to investigate, but the lights started turning on and off in the bedroom where the student was currently standing.

Not knowing what to do, Chanyeol stood in the middle of the room, looking at every little corner. 

He felt like he really was in The Conjuring, and that thought made him want to throw up. 

Chanyeol tried to avoid the mirror in his bedroom but eventually looked at it, refusing to believe his eyes for the second time in a span of ten minutes. 

With every flick of the light, his reflection was replaced with someone else who mimicked his pose, mocking him with his soulless eyes.

Everything went black for Chanyeol after that.

***

The next day he spent in a daze. Jongdae just laughed at him and said that they went overboard with alcohol, but Jongin – his second-best friend – just looked at him worryingly.

“Spit it out already,” Jongin slumped near him in the cafeteria and started to eat his pizza. “What’s up with you? You look… honestly, you look more dead than alive.”

And Chanyeol truly felt like that, too. 

When he regained his consciousness back, everything was normal. 

The lights were on, there was no one in the mirror. It’s not his brain playing tricks this time, he was sure. Even when he got drunk to the point of not being able to stand on his feet, he never saw anything paranormal.    
  


The scene from yesterday was anything but normal. It- It didn’t make sense. 

He double-checked every little corner of his apartment, looked at the mirror until his eyes started to hurt, searched for anything missing in case he was robbed yesterday, but it all was just… normal. A normal student flat. Nothing more, nothing less.

“I- I think I saw someone in the mirror yesterday… wait, no. I saw someone in the mirrors.” Chanyeol pushed away his lunch, not feeling like he could even swallow a piece right now. He looked at the window, not wanting to look at Jongin’s expression right now. The younger won’t believe him.

True to his words, he heard a chuckle. “I thought it was something important, Yeol. You were pissed drunk yesterday. It’s possible you just imagined the whole thing before passing out.”

“I didn’t! It was real, Jongin, I swear.”

“Okay, then let’s talk about it more.” Jongin looked at him with a serious expression. “Correct me if I’m wrong.”

“Go on.”

“You locked the door.” A nod. “Yeah, okay. And you also changed the lock. Right. Uh, you never have seen the face before.”

“Yes. And no one lives or studies here who has features similar to those I saw!”

“Yeol, I don’t want to be rude, but doesn’t it sound like a drunk dream to you?” Chanyeol just fell silent after that. 

It did. Maybe, for the first time in his life, he was so drunk that he just dreamt of it. He could’ve knocked the trashcan when he tried to make his way towards the bed. And maybe he just fell asleep on the floor. It happened with Jongdae before. Why is he different, then?

“You’re right. I’m sorry,” Chanyeol sighed, not wanting to face the truth. “I think I was just really,  _ really  _ drunk.”

“Nah, it’s okay. It happens with everyone. Now eat your lunch.”

After the talk, Chanyeol was able to breathe easier. 

Jongin was a true sweetheart, supporting him in every way possible without making fun of him for mixing a dream with reality. In the end, Chanyeol shouldn’t think about creepy things. 

Ghosts  _ don’t _ exist.

However, when he went home, that confidence disappeared. 

Chanyeol turned the lights on and waited for them to flicker, but nothing happened. 

He spent a few hours waiting for something to happen, constantly gazing at the mirror in his bedroom for at least some movement. Again, nothing. 

Chanyeol eventually got frustrated and just spent the rest of the day watching Netflix and eating his snacks, only moving to reach the computer and click on the next episode.

When it got dark outside, Chanyeol didn’t bother turning on the lights in his bedroom. He was done with homework, preferring to finish everything in advance after seeing Jongin trying to memorize twenty pages of just terms in five minutes before the test. 

His mother texted him earlier to inform him that they all went out to Yoora’s house for dinner and to celebrate her promotion. Chanyeol declined the offer to come, but called his sister to congratulate her personally.

Yesterday’s event was still fresh in his mind and no matter how much he tried to forget it, his brain just repeated it over and over again. He was jumpy, shaking from every harsh sound he heard whether they were outside on the streets or from his loud neighbours. 

Another thing that made the place cheap are the walls – they were paper-thin. He could hear the whole conversation that his neighbour was having about fucking five girls at once and how he actually liked femdom.

When Chanyeol was half asleep, his stupid mind decided that this was the perfect time to close his laptop and stare at his reflection on the mirror as if something is going to happen to it.

_ Fucking stop doing it. _ But his gaze was still on the mirror, trying to find that face again.

He swore he could have seen the face he saw in the mirror at a club and found it cute. His brain just now decided to remind him that he is attracted to cute boys, too. And even if he saw the other’s face abruptly, not being able to really draw him in his mind, he must admit that.

With those thoughts, he fell asleep, only waking up to go to the toilet at five in the morning. 

The birds were already chirping outside, cars started honking somewhere very close to his apartment. Chanyeol stood in the kitchen and enjoyed the view, slowly drinking his water from a cup his mother gifted him right before the day he moved.

It was Saturday, which meant there were no classes. He could go and visit his family either today or tomorrow. 

He never experienced being away from them and he missed everyone. He also missed his mother’s cooking and made a mental note to take something with him because next week is going to be hectic for him. He has an upcoming test would greatly affect his grades and he absolutely could not fuck it up.

So, with that, Chanyeol returned to the bedroom, picked up his phone and checked his social media. 

Nothing much, just a few messages from university group chats, a bunch of whiny texts from Jongdae. Logging in to YouTube, Chanyeol watched a few relaxing vlogs from his subscriptions, noticing how the music made him sleepy again. It was still too early and he could sleep for a few hours until his natural clock decided to wake him up.

But the whole idea was thrown out of the window when Chanyeol noticed that beside him, a small figure was visible in the mirror.

It almost looked like the whole mirror was fogged up, making it harder for the student to clearly look at the figure.

He rubbed his eyes, but then the reflection showed the same face – now with a body – sitting on his bed and looking directly at him.

All thoughts seemed to disappear in his head, leaving space for his racing, thumping, possibly dying heart to fill all parts of his frozen, terrified body, to echo inside his head, creating a cacophony of sounds that somehow prevented him from thinking rationally in this situation.

He was completely sober, not drinking even once after the incident. 

His mind was clear and bright, capable of thinking and deciding what’s real and what isn’t. The sun was already shining, lighting up the whole room in soft, pastel-like colours that made everything shine with delicateness. 

Even though mystical things were captured on camera many, many times, Chanyeol never thought that he would experience the pure, raw feeling of wanting to burn the house down with the boy that was currently looking at him with an unreadable, blank expression on his pale, not even alive, face.

Movies always portrayed paranormal activities to take place during the night – to make the scenery scarier, to put the viewer in a particular, vulnerable state of mind where he would wait for something to happen, to jump out of the corner, to scare them and make their heart beat faster, the adrenaline rush sensible, almost touchable.

However, this doesn’t remind him of scary movies. 

The boy – what is he? It? – looked delicate with his soft features on display, laid on the sunny part of the –  _ his _ – bed, not wanting to spare him a glance, to acknowledge him even the slightest.

It irked Chanyeol, made his eyes focus harder on the iridescent silhouette that was busy bathing in the sunlight in  _ his  _ room,  _ his  _ house. 

Chanyeol jumped out of the bed, bare feet touching the cold carpeted floor and making relatively loud, deafening sounds as he walked closer to the mirror, senses on alert, ready to jump at anything that dares to even step near him. His reflection repeated his actions, but the boy – the ghost – was disappearing as the sun took its place on the sky.

He almost had a ray of thick, white smoke around him, wrapped to protect the body. It made him resemble how movie directors always drew ghosts – bluish grey, phantom and lightweight, floating mid-air with no intentions and true purposes.

The student almost,  _ almost _ bumped his nose on the surface of the mirror, eyes glued on the boy that just continued to stare, not at him, but in the distance - past the mirror, the walls, hell, even the whole building. 

He just sat and stared. 

It all resembled a dream. A stupid, boring dream that clerks or office planktons seem to have all year round when they are not busy calculating countless numbers on their soulless computers with a blank stare in their eyes. 

Those same eyes that the boy has.

The boy’s hair was the same jet-black, straight, falling down and covering his forehead. His eyes – droopy, sad and almost dead – were a dull, boring shade of brown, missing that particular twinkle that all people Chanyeol knew had. He was  _ dead. _

Either inside, outside, or both.

Sharp cheekbones, pale skin tight around the protruding jawline, lips lacking any color. His form was disappearing, fading into the air, as well as the face he was looking at simply seconds ago. Now, it was nothing but a blank space of air with specks of dust flying around in the golden rays of the sun.

Chanyeol went to his parents’ house in a span of two hours. 

His dishevelled hair, big and dark bags under his wide eyes did not mask that sticky fear he felt creeping into his body, shaking every single cell and sending him into a full panic mode. Other passengers eyed him with clear suspicion present on their face as he constantly turned around to glance if anybody was following him from behind. 

He drummed his fingers on his lap, annoying the hell out of himself as he was not a fan of those things and was usually the first one to call out either Jongdae or Jongin if they were stressing out about anything, coping with the feeling that way.

When he got to the house, the same smell and atmosphere he grew up in calmed down his inner state. 

It was the right decision to come to his parents if he felt uneasy being – living – in that flat. 

Immediately, his mother turned on her overprotective mode, gasping at the visible lack of sleep on his face and poor choice of clothing, since Chanyeol always made sure he looked presentable, yet comfortable at the same time.

She bombarded him with questions like “Have you eaten?” and “Oh my god, did you even sleep today?” as she rushed him to the kitchen, ignoring his weak attempts to even respond to her or his father who just noticed him when walking out of their bedroom.

He ended up having a full feast rather than a simple little meal his mother promised. 

His father just complained about how he was given two times less the amount of food when his mother fed him, making Chanyeol laugh. In the end, his family was always there for him, his safe little shelter he could hide in.

“So, Chanyeol, how is it?” They were now all seated in the living room, each holding a cup of hot tea. The coffee table was littered with different kinds of sweets to go along with the tea, reminding Chanyeol of the time they used to do that when Chanyeol lost the competition in second grade. His mother knew him  _ too  _ well. “How’s the place?”

Should he lie or should he tell the truth? That he, a grown-up man, preferred to run from his own apartment because he was seeing a ghost in the mirror. 

“It’s okay.” Chanyeol reluctantly said, ”Um, the light flickering bothers me, actually, but I think that’s generally the problem of the whole building. It’s old.”

“Maybe you should come back home, then?” ‘ _ What if the ghost follows you here?’ _

“No, I’m good. Thank you, mom, but you should stop worrying. It’s my first place, my freedom.”

With that, his mother just chose to quiet down and change the topic, trying to ease the growing tension between her and her son. 

Chanyeol talked about it – that he felt like he was trapped with her overprotectiveness. That he wanted to experience life on his own, that it was time for her to let him go. And honestly, her husband was thinking the same. It was him who reminded her not to call Chanyeol every five minutes, not to ask him whether she should bring him food and if he’s warm there. 

Her boy is now an adult. Soon, he will graduate, and earn his very first money and move somewhere else.

“Okay. So, have you found anyone yet?” 

Ah, there it was. 

The topic he tried to avoid at all costs. After he came out to his parents, admitting that he’s bisexual, as if he likes girls  _ and  _ boys, things started to feel different. Surprisingly, both of them reacted quite nicely, his heavy research on the internet on how to properly explain to parents that he likes men and women going to waste. 

Except now his mother thought that he was moving out to be able to have sex with everyone.

And, yeah, maybe that was true – him wanting to have sex with someone, even if it was just a quick one night fling – but he also just wanted to live alone. 

He felt trapped inside the house with his mother asking and asking tons of questions and expecting him to open up about everything that is going on in university. But he won’t do that. She has to understand, sooner or later.

“Chanyeol,” It was his father this time, gaze fixed on the empty cup that he placed on the table. “I rarely say this, but I think that moving out was the right decision for you. I think that way you’ll experience college life fully and suck in the energy of being young and free. Your future career is demanding, so have fun.” 

Chanyeol smiled and nodded, knowing the subtle hint that his father gave him. Chanyeol was always apprehensive about going to the college parties and drinking until he passed out, but his father just gave him the permission to do so. 

‘ _ Could the day get even weirder?’ _

He got home later that night, refusing to stay over at his parents’ house despite his mother’s convictions. 

The lights flickered, as usual, and Chanyeol sighed, knowing that his light state of mind will soon vanish in the negativity of this apartment. He was almost sure if he looked at the mirror, he would not be alone.

Deciding to prove it to himself, he walked into his bedroom and turned on the lights that flickered. 

The light bulb exploded, and Chanyeol quickly covered his head in order to avoid getting hurt with flying pieces of glass, so scolding hot they could melt his skin like butter.

He stormed out of the bedroom and made it into the bathroom, finding the mirror and staring at it. 

True to his thoughts, he was alone there, until the same hand, covered in haze, grey and nauseous, landed on his shoulder. 

He felt nothing, and the hand looked like it was just floating on his shoulder, not daring to move since he was watching. Then, the same face appeared out of nowhere, standing – floating – near his own, the same dead gaze looking through the mirror at him. 

The boy then moved somewhere behind Chanyeol, still floating and showing up in the mirror.

The student silently followed the ghost. Now, the boy was in the bathroom, staring at the wall and doing  _ literally  _ nothing. Not. A. Single. Thing.

Chanyeol just decided to ignore the walking thing and finally google about the whole situation in his house.

Turns out, he’s not the only one who has seen a ghost.

After spending hours on different forums, websites and videos trying to at least find the reason why the ghost randomly decided to stick to him. 

For now, all he learned was that ghosts are capable of controlling the lights, moving things (which Chanyeol haven’t noticed yet), and appearing in mirrors.

One particular comment in some sketchy website caught his attention – the person was saying that if a ghost appeared in a mirror, then the largest one should be broken. That way, the ghost will lose its connection with the living world and stop coming.

Chanyeol debated whether he should do that. 

The mirror was suitable for his height and he – aside from looking at the ghost – was actually looking at himself when getting ready. He can’t just randomly go and buy another mirror for himself. But at the same time, does he even need it? If he ends up ordering it online, the shipping would take ages. And he’s not ready for that.

So, should he just break it? Chanyeol still thought about all the consequences, but his inner voice just kept reminding him about the past days. If that dude is saying the truth, then he will be free after he breaks the mirror.

Chanyeol walked into his closet, searching for something that might be heavy enough to break the mirror in shards. 

He didn’t have much; his bag is too light, clothes, obviously,  _ duh _ , are not used for breaking something, so it’s either his fist or-

Or a rock that he can pick up from outside.

Feeling like all eyes are judging him, Chanyeol searched the neighborhood until he found a rock heavy and big enough to be able to smash the mirror without any problem.

Grasping it, Chanyeol made his way back to the apartment, washing the rock in advance in case there was something nasty on it. No way in hell he is bringing that into his place.

The lights inside his bedroom turned on without him touching the switch, which made the student curse. 

The ghost, spirit, demon –  _ whatever _ – clearly knew about his intentions and was trying to scare him. No, no way in hell. 

He will put an end to it, he will smash the fucking mirror and kill the ghost and everything  will be fine .

When he laid the mirror on the floor and held the rock up high, ready to put all his hate, anger and frustration into the rock that will end this nightmare. And he would finally be able to breathe properly.

The light flickered again, frustrating the student even more. How- How can the ghost spark up so many feelings in him? And he wasn’t even sure whether he really saw the ghost or he’s just starting to get crazy with the school becoming more and more tiring. 

Maybe, just  _ maybe,  _ it was all his imagination. 

But lights don’t flicker like that on their own. Shaking his head,  _ no _ , he has to do it, Chanyeol smashes the mirror with a rock, sending a huge,  _ thunder-like  _ wave of sounds across his flat, a hundred percent positive his neighbours heard everything.

He continued hitting until there were only small shards on the floor, reflecting the sunset on his face and projecting the light onto the ceiling with chipped paint and mold.

The light stopped flickering. 

Chanyeol stopped breathing, waiting for something to happen.

A loud crash was then heard from his closet, and the student dropped the rock, quickly making his way up there. 

The room was lit by the sun, painting the walls in a bright shade of pink and orange. His clothes, however, were on the floor, laying like someone threw them in rage. The shelf – the exact shelf where the floor squeaked, Chanyeol realized – was empty and looked weird. 

The clothes were thrown from  _ that  _ shelf.

Observing the furniture, Chanyeol searched for something that could tell him why the ghost chose to throw out stuff just from this shelf. Meaning that breaking a mirror wasn’t enough. The ghost was still here.

Just then he noticed how weird the carpet was placed on that particular spot. 

Kneeling, he touched the spot, resulting in a loud squeak. He tried touching another spot, but the sound it made was somehow different. Feeling like he was a detective looking for answers, Chanyeol tried lifting the carpet, revealing a poorly covered hiding-place built into the floor. No keys were needed, Chanyeol just lifted the piece of parquetry flooring that came out with ease.

Inside, a small notebook and a bunch of envelopes were safely hidden from the eyes of the public, dusty and almost  _ old. _ The notebook was placed here not long ago – the pages were still white, filled out with words that formed sentences. It was a  _ diary. _ The envelopes ended up holding a large amount of cash.

There was also a little sticky note with a number on it.

Chanyeol took everything out, glancing around to look for the ghost. Clearly, the boy wanted him to look at it. He wasn’t giving him signs until just now. 

Flipping through the notebook and deciding he would read it later, the student looked at the sticky note and reached for his phone, adding the contact and signing it as ‘Ghost’. He then placed the money back into the hiding spot – if the boy was dead, then that would mean he stole from a dead person. And Chanyeol had morals.

The sound of clothes falling again gained his attention.

The whole scene couldn’t get any worse, so Chanyeol decided to play the main character of a horror movie.

“What do you want?” Look at where he is now. Talking to a ghost. “How can I know what you want?”

_ A flick of light _ .

“Fuck. Okay.  _ Yes _ is one flick of light.  _ No _ is two flicks. Got it?” He said completely out of blue, not even waiting to get a reaction from the creature.

_ One flick. _

Okay.

“Wonderful. You lived here?”

_ One flick. _

“Is this all yours?”

_ One flick. _

“Can you see me?”

_ Again, one flick. _

“Can you hear me?”

_ One flick. _

“Are you trying to hurt me?”

_Two flicks._ **Oh.**

“What do you want, then?”

_ The lights started turning on and off like crazy. _

“I can’t understand that. And- I’m still doubtful if this is real, you know. Thanks for the notebook. I’ll read it. I won’t take the money. And I am not leaving, if this is what you want.”

Gathering everything, Chanyeol left the closet and sat at his desk, opening the notebook on its first page.

_ Dear diary, _

_ It sounds cliché, right? I know. I don’t know why I’m writing this. Soo told me it is relaxing, but I personally think this is just stupid, hahha. Um, so. _

_ I met this guy the other day at work. He was really, and I mean really, cute, he also treated me with coffee and doughnuts which are my two favourite things. Soo said he looks sketchy and I disagree with that. He looks amazing. I hope I’ll meet him again. And I also hope he thinks I’m pretty. Maybe we’ll start dating uwu _

_ Anyway, other than that things are boring. Work is boring. Life is boring. Dae texted me and told me about a good looking boy that he knows, he is supposedly extremely smart and he is a lawyer. Idk, I like Jaeho better. I don’t know much about him, but he seems kind _

_ Ok, I’ll get going _

_ Uh, bye? _

_ 01.02.19 _

The first entry was made more than a year ago.

Yesterday, Chanyeol was terrified and pissed off.

Today, he is just confused.

_ “Chanyeol, wake up.” _

Chanyeol continued staring at the open notebook, not fully processing what he just read. It all felt rushed and very private, in general. He shouldn’t be reading someone else’s diary - someone who’s dead.

That thought made him shudder, gross goosebumps going up his back and making him gulp. Why, out of all people, it’s him who was this lucky? The advertisement didn’t say ‘Buy an apartment and get a ghost for free’. Why didn’t the landlord even say anything about the guy that lived here?

Chanyeol quickly closed the books as the lights started to flicker yet again.

_ ‘This needs to stop.’ _

With a heavy sigh, the student made his way out of his apartment to knock a few times on Jongdae’s door. Not even waiting for the other to respond, he barged in, deciding not to notice the empty bottles of beer that remained here for over a week. Jongdae never bothered to take out his trash on time.

He found Jongdae laying on his small sofa, eyes glued on the film he always made Chanyeol watch whenever they hung out. Chanyeol never really understood why Jongdae liked ‘Knives out’ so much because the plot was shitty and not even Chris Evans saved the situation.

“Get up,” He picked up a slipper, definitely not Jongdae’s, and slapped him with it, earning a whine. The music major always whined when he thought he was mistreated and the sound of that made Chanyeol’s ear bleed: Jongdae was loud, obnoxious and rude, never caring what others thought of him, always doing what his heart told him to do.

And yes, the traits were useful from time to time, but they also irritated the shit out of Chanyeol when Jongdae thought whining was his secret weapon to making Chanyeol comply and do anything the other wanted.

Jongdae stared at Chanyeol, brows furrowed, eyes indicating he made him angry, but Chanyeol didn’t give a fuck, not when not even five minutes ago he talked to a fucking ghost in his apartment who helped him find his own diary, clearly having a purpose.

A fucking ghost literally hinted Chanyeol to read his diary and figure out something, and Chanyeol, at this point, wasn’t even sure he was sober. Maybe he sniffed something he doesn’t remember and is now hallucinating. That is possible, right?

“The fuck you want from me, Chanyeol?” Jongdae hit Chanyeol with the same slipper, his whiny mode fully on. “I was enjoying my movie and here you are, killing the vibe!” He stood up and cornered Chanyeol, trying to look as intimidating as possible, but he still resembled an angry squirrel.

Chanyeol brushed him off before picking up Jongdae’s can of beer and chugging it in one go. “I have a ghost in my apartment.”

“You high?” The music major looked at him in the eyes, clicking his tongue when he found nothing that indicated his suspicions. “What are you even talking about?”

“I think I made myself clear, Dae. I have a fucking ghost in my flat.” Chanyeol angrily replied, trying to keep his composure and not let the panic take over him.

Jongdae remained silent for a moment, still observing the taller before sighing as he took him to sit on the couch.

“Talk to me,” He said, voice determined and lack of his usual sarcasm.

Chanyeol ruffled his own hair in an attempt to calm down and begin the story without looking like a paranoid teenager that watched a bunch of scary movies in one night and is now terrified to sleep without the lights on. “I don’t know, I came drunk after that night we celebrated my freedom,” He avoided Jongdae’s gaze, still forming a proper answer in his head, remembering all the details. “And I saw like- I don’t know. A boy in my mirror? He was blurry, and I could only see his face, but he then disappeared. I kinda blamed it all on the alcohol, but…”

“But what?”

“But he returned a few days later. He was clearly visible, laying on my fucking bed. And when I walked towards the mirror, he disappeared. It looked like he wasn’t even looking at me, you get me?”

“I don’t get you,” Jongdae said with a heavy sigh and made Chanyeol look at him. “Is that it?”

Chanyeol shook his head as a no and chuckled without any emotion in his voice. “The lights flickered all the time. And today, when I was home, the clothes dropped from the shelf as if someone dropped them on purpose. I found a secret spot on the floor-” Jongdae looked at him with wide eyes, now clearly getting the message himself. He stood up and started pacing around the room, lower lip between his teeth. “There was a diary. And money. I took the diary and I also talked to it.”

“What?” His friend stopped walking and only then Chanyeol saw how his hands trembled even though Jongdae was trying his best to cover that by showing them in his pockets. “You communicated with the ghost?”

“Yeah, by lights. And it talked.”

“Did you read the diary?” Jongdae quickly changed the topic.

“Only the first page. It was something about his workday at a coffee shop and a certain guy it found cute.”

Jongdae sat near him and took his big palm in his, the movement indicating that Jongdae wanted to say something important. It was a habit Chanyeol noticed since day one. “I- I have a confession. I know who lived inside your apartment. I was friends with him.”

They had a long talk after that.

Turns out, the guy was named Baekhyun and he worked at a coffee shop near their campus as a barista. What made Chanyeol shudder in terror was the fact that the lawyer was him, and Jongdae recommended him to Baekhyun. That thought alone was giving him spiky chills inside and made his stomach turn.

Jongdae was his neighbour. They never really indicated themselves as friends, but did go out to drink quite often after Baekhyun’s shifts. It was the only time they really talked to each other and opened up. Jongdae recommended Chanyeol because apparently Baekhyun was crushing on someone shitty and needed to find another cutie.

Jongdae had seen his crush – that typical dude who covered his shitty personality with compliments and pick-up phrases and Baekhyun had fallen for that. Eventually, they started dating, and that didn’t seem like something good to Chanyeol.

They had fought a lot – Jongdae could hear them through the thin walls and often was the one who helped a crying Baekhyun calm down after fights. There was also this one guy – Jongdae forgot his name, but Chanyeol put two and two together and realized the other one was Soo, the friend Baekhyun mentioned in his diary – who came to the apartment and scolded Baekhyun, telling him how he should dump that asshole.

And Chanyeol agreed with that.

When he asked whether Baekhyun was abused just emotionally or the fights also involved hitting, Jongdae just shrugged and answered honestly: Baekhyun never told him and he, himself, didn’t hear any sounds like that.

Things had escalated quickly: the fights became a daily routine and Jongdae grew close to Baekhyun, always begging him to break up with his boyfriend, but the latter refused, coming up with weak excuses that changed every time.

It all came to the breaking point when Baekhyun had knocked on Jongdae’s door at three o’clock in the morning and asked him for help. The help included getting rid of his cellphone and packing his bags. Baekhyun was running away.

After that moment, Jongdae never saw him again. He looked at Chanyeol with guilt in his eyes, but the taller quickly reassured him that maybe Baekhyun did escape, after all.

Although that sounded like a complete lie. If he really saw Baekhyun, then he is definitely dead or somewhere along those lines.

Jongdae ended up spending the night in Chanyeol’s arms, sobbing his heart out as the guilt ate him up, never-ending his train of apologies to Baekhyun, even though the latter probably didn’t hear him. Chanyeol could just whisper reassuring nonsense to his friend, not sure how to cope with the information he heard.

It all sounded as if Chanyeol had magically gotten into a stupid Hollywood movie, the plot of the film being so lame and predictable that directors decided to draw away the viewer’s attention with unnecessary creepy things.

Chanyeol had no idea how to truly talk to Jongdae about the situation – he never experienced things like that, and he honestly had no idea how Jongdae could even cope with the guilt which seemed to eat him alive. Chanyeol understood why Jongdae hadn't told him about Baekhyun, knowing what kind of reaction would be drawn out of Chanyeol.

There was only one thing bothering Chanyeol: what happened to Baekhyun and what he wanted from him?

Chanyeol quietly put Jongdae to sleep and returned to his apartment, not liking the heavy atmosphere inside. The rooms were dark and he was now paranoid, constantly glancing around to look for shadows and strange things.

The diary remained on his table, still closed, so Chanyeol concluded Baekhyun couldn’t control all of the things besides lights and his reflection. That was a good thing, he concluded.

Head heavy with buzzing thoughts, Chanyeol went to sleep but ended up staring at the diary for the rest of the night as if waiting for the ghost to appear and do something to him.

***

Chanyeol felt as if that conversation made him and Jongdae a bit closer than they were before. The smaller knocked on his door the next morning, eyes still red and puffy from crying, and asked if he could look at the diary as well.

Jongdae was probably doing this out of guilt he felt towards Baekhyun, but Chanyeol still allowed him. They agreed to look for that mysterious other friend Baekhyun had, but the whole campus was so big and Jongdae voiced out his concerns: he may not even work at the café anymore.

They both also agreed to try and forget about the ghost – yes, they will try and look for the friend to ask him what happened to Baekhyun, but the whole situation has been stressing Chanyeol out for weeks. It began to affect his sleep schedule and performance in college, so Jongdae offered a solution.

Chanyeol should find a boyfriend.

Or a girlfriend.

It would help him move his attention towards another person and help with his emotional state. It was a good idea. Jongdae chose music as his therapy since she started singing at a pub nearby on the weekends, so he invited Chanyeol there under the veil of finding someone special there.

“There’s a good crowd there, always,” Jongdae was busy trying to fix his backpack zipper that seemed broken beyond repair, letting out little groans of annoyance as he struggled to keep all of his stuff inside and prevent them from falling out. “I think you can meet someone there, and besides, they serve good drinks. The bartender is fond of me, I think he’s Chinese so I’m sure he would make you something for free if you let him know I’m your friend.”

Chanyeol chewed on his lower lip, humming and not really paying attention to the smaller rambling who showed no signs of stopping. He was deep in his thoughts due to the diary entry he had read during lunch. It still didn’t give valuable information to Chanyeol, but it did describe the café Baekhyun had worked at.

_ Dear diary, _

_ Today was an awful day. The café I’m working at decided to host a birthday and it was during my shift so I had to run around and look after kids and I hate it. _

_ But the only good thing is that Jaeho invited me to dinner this weekend, I’m looking forward to that. He said he’s super busy but he hopes I will agree to the invitation _

_ Like, ofc I will! He is just stunning and he’s so nice to me, always telling me the best compliments about my appearance. I like that. _

_ The café is also near SNU, and we have like a rival of some sorts that will soon have a grand opening. Uh, the name is like “Beans and bees”? idk sounds stupid _

_ Oh also Soo’s still nagging me about Jaeho. I hate him, seriously. Like the guy’s super hot and attractive, why would I not fall for him? And like, he’s also been giving me the best gifts _

_ Anyway, I think I’m done ranting for today bc I want to leave space for my date! See you then _

_ 03.02.19 _

They really should visit that café, Chanyeol thought.

He hasn't told Jongdae about it just yet since he was still babbling about the pub and that bartender with cute ass dimples, which made Chanyeol laugh. Jongdae always noticed weird little things in people and fell in love with them. He also had a weird obsession with dimples and took hours to pinch them on Chanyeol’s cheeks.

“Anyway,” Chanyeol broke Jongdae’s monologue and tapped on his shoulder easily, thanks to the height difference. Jongdae looked offended, knowing that Chanyeol probably listened to only the beginning of his very important information about the bartender.

***

They stood in front of the café Baekhyun had mentioned in his diary, but that wasn’t what caught Chanyeol’s attention. Another café, smaller and less busy compared to the Beans and Bees stood next to them, the door decorated with all kinds of leaves and flowers in hope of catching the attention of potential customers.

“Why are we here?” Jongdae asked, not impressed by the idea of holding his backpack in his hands for the next hour or more. “This is not our usual café, Chanyeol.”

“I don’t think we should go there, Chanyeol.”

“What? Why are you saying this, Jongdae? You promised you would help me, so why are you backing off now?”

Jongdae bit his lip and looked like he was in physical pain from having this conversation. He rubbed his hands together - a sign he is extremely nervous - and avoided Chanyeol’s intense gaze as he answered the question. “I don’t really want to discover what happened to Baekhyun. You are too invested in this, Chanyeol.”

_ “Chanyeol, please wake up.” _

The voice in his head mixed with Jongdae’s words and made Chanyeol’s head spin.

The taller man ignored his friend and went inside, dragging Jongdae alongside. He ignored the loud whines that escaped from his mouth, clearly catching the attention of other people as Jongdae liked to scream like he was about to get murdered.

“Shut up, Dae. This is the café Baekhyun used to work at,” Chanyeol glanced around the building, took in the surroundings and inhaled the strong smell of coffee and pastries that surrounded him the moment he walked in.

The interior design was quite simple, yet it caught his attention nonetheless. With walls decorated with fake leaves and pictures of different cities, the café gave a very warm feeling to Chanyeol. Pastries were displayed near the cash register, reminding Chanyeol that he had nothing to eat at home. He let Jongdae pick a free table and went to order them something, knowing what Jongdae liked by heart.

The boy at the register looked at him with big eyes behind round black glasses and furrowed his brows when Chanyeol continued staring at his nametag.

_ Kyungsoo. _

The guy Baekhyun talked about was Soo. Could it be?

“Sir, I don’t have all day. Please say your order,” The boy said, clearly annoyed that Chanyeol kept the rest of the line waiting. He did give out similar vibes with his sassiness and Chanyeol weighted out all the possible options before deciding it wouldn’t hurt if he asks.

“Uh, yes. Two large Americanos, two chicken sandwiches and a strawberry cupcake, please.” Chanyeol gave the cashier the right amount of money and sighed before asking the next thing. “Do you perhaps know someone named Baekhyun?”

The guy stopped, shock evident on his face. He gazed up at Chanyeol, hands visibly shaking no matter how hard he tried to keep his composure. “How do you know him?” He managed to say.

“Can you take a break? I think it won’t be a short story,” Chanyeol said with hope, cheering internally when Kyungsoo nodded. He went somewhere, only to return without his apron and ask where they should talk.

Chanyeol showed him the table and Kyungsoo started to walk faster upon noticing Jongdae. The taller just gulped and hoped he did the right thing because the barista did not look pleased, and Jongdae bit his lip.

The whole tension passed on to Chanyeol even though the cashier didn’t look as intimidating as he did before he saw Jongdae. Chanyeol still hoped he did the right thing.

“Hi,” Jongdae’s voice wavered at the end and he hid his hands under the table to mask how nervous and terrified he was. After all, he still thought it was his fault that Baekhyun disappeared.

“You’re Jongdae, right? I’m bad at names,” Kyungsoo stretched his lips into a small smile and looked at Chanyeol. “And you are?”

“Oh, I’m Chanyeol and yes, this is Jongdae.” Chanyeol quickly added and went silent to let the other two talk.

“First of all,” Kyungsoo sighed and rubbed at his temples in an attempt to focus on the topic. “What do you want to know about Baekhyun? Why do you even care?”

Jongdae visibly tensed at that remark and sank in his seat, letting Chanyeol take control yet again. “Well, I found his stuff over at my – his – place, if you know what I mean.” Chanyeol smiled awkwardly and took a sip of his drink that the waiter brought.

Kyungsoo hummed and abruptly stood up. “He doesn’t need them anymore. You can throw them away.”

Chanyeol eyed at how uncomfortable Kyungsoo looked at that moment. His whole figure resembled a tight knot, ready to run away from them if something would go wrong.

Jongdae remained in his seat but focused his attention on his cup of coffee as if this is his first time seeing the drink for the first time in his life. Something doesn’t add up to Chanyeol and it irritated him.

“Listen, Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol grabbed the other’s hand and gazed at him with pleading eyes. “Please, just listen to us – to Jongdae, especially.”

“I don’t blame him if you’re concerned about that.” Kyungsoo was still looking away as he voiced his thoughts and continued to leave. “I get that Baekhyun wanted to run away. I know what happened.”

“Where is he now?”

“I won’t tell you that. Why do you need to know about it?”

Chanyeol waited for a bit before answering Kyungsoo’s question. “I- I see him in my mirror.”

“I beg your pardon?” Kyungsoo’s eyes became wide, almost ready to fall from their sockets.

“I see him in my mirror, Kyungsoo. Like people would see a ghost, you know. That’s why I need to know what happened to him after he ran away!” Chanyeol’s voice was full of emotion, heavy against the ears. He looked like the topic truly bothered him and made his life miserable, as if he was tortured.

Kyungsoo fell silent, even Jongdae looked at him wide eyed, not ready to hear their problem being voiced out like that. The whole situation started to get out of their control and no one saw what was coming next.

“You know what,” Kyungsoo, angry and pissed off, grabbed the tray with their finished drinks and stood up, indicating he won’t even listen to them anymore. “I’m tired of this bullshit. First, you come to me and say things like that, make me face him,” He points at Jongdae and immediately focuses his attention back on Chanyeol. “And now you say that my friend is a ghost who tortures you with his reflections! Fuck all of you for coming up with this sick joke of yours.” He spat out with venom and turned around, shoulders tense.

Chanyeol sighed in defeat, but Kyungsoo turned around. “This is Jaeho’s idea, right? For you to come here and play your sick games with me! Knowing what happened to Baekhyun! Knowing that he- he is like that now because of that bastard!” Kyungsoo didn’t care that he was gaining attention from other people in the café; he was gone, bathing in his own sorrow, unable to think clearly. “He’s mad at me that I put him in prison! And you know what, I won’t fucking regret that! Let him rot in a cell for the rest of his fucking life for what he did. And you two-” He breathed out, eyes watery. “Don’t come here. Or you’ll end up in the same four walls and I will fucking make sure that happens.”

With that, he left.

Chanyeol doesn’t remember how he got home and how Jongdae got drunk to the point of passing out on his couch. All he remembered were Kyungsoo’s words ringing in his ears and the burning guilt he felt for even considering going to the café in the first place and dragging Jongdae with him.

Nothing felt right anymore.

He had no right to come up to Kyungsoo to search for Baekhyun who specifically made sure to disappear. And when people do that, they don’t want anyone searching for them from their past life.

He should let it go. Maybe just read the diary and feed his curiosity, but he should no longer get Kyungsoo or Jongdae involved in this mess. He was the cause of it so it’s his duty to do everything on his own.

As he walked past Jongdae, the music major snoring loudly, the sound of it echoing through his apartment walls, Chanyeol made his way to that diary, flipped to the next page to read the entry.

The handwriting was neat and simple, easy to read and process and Chanyeol enjoyed those little doodles at the end of every entry Baekhyun wrote.

This time, he was greeted with a doodle of a dog. Chanyeol tried to guess its breed but failed miserably and shifted his attention to the entry itself.

_ Dear diary, _

_ I finally had my first date with Jaeho, so I’m really happy! I feel like he liked me a lot although I managed to spill wine all over the table, it was so embarrassing I hate myself _

_ He didn’t get angry, I would say more like frustrated but that’s okay I understand him _

_ We went for ice cream after that and walked in the park, I even took some polaroid pictures of the trees. They’re just waking up and starting to bloom and it was so beautiful _

_ He also gave me his jacket when it got too cold and my heart melted at the gesture like this gentleman!!!!! I love him already even though it is a very strong word I would say _

_ Uh, what else? _

_ Oh, I’m going to the same park tmrw! I even wrote the address on the back of one polaroid so I won’t forget it heheheh I’m smart _

Chanyeol looked at the diary with a smile: it was a simple ruled college notebook with a doodle of a dog on the cover, but the inside was decorated with little stickers and envelopes that contained Baekhyun’s memories: pictures, cutouts, prints and even receipts and plane tickets. It was so… personal and so fragile, Baekhyun seemed to care about collecting memories a lot and Chanyeol appreciated that.

He found a glued envelope on the next page and opened it to find a few polaroids of the trees, one polaroid having the address written on it with a pen, obviously in a rush.

_ I’ll write about it later!! Right now I’m dozing off zzzzzzzzzzzz _

_ 05.02.19 _

Chanyeol closed the diary and checked up on his drunk friend before finishing his reading for the week and heading to sleep, knowing he couldn’t look at Baekhyun because his mirror was broken.

_ “I love you, Chanyeol. Please wake up.” _

In the morning, Chanyeol was woken up by a whining Jongdae clutching at his head with curses. He chuckled and fetched his friend a bottle of water and a pill for his throbbing headache and went to class. He knew Jongdae would skip the day by staying in bed to promise to never, ever drink again.

Everything went well with Chanyeolthe whole day, thinking about the park he will visit this afternoon. He looked up the address on Google Maps and the park turned out to be a ten-minute walk from the university.

As it said, it was a popular place for students and couples with little shops and food stalls there and for Chanyeol, it would be absolutely perfect. He could lie about wanting to clear his head and no one would disturb him for the rest of the day.

He also ordered a mirror online, almost identical to the one he shattered not so long ago and waited for the delivery to arrive.

When he got to the park, he made sure to match the scenery with the polaroids Baekhyun took just to make sure he really was in the right place. The entrance gate matched, so he sighed in satisfaction and walked in.

He quickly understood why that asshole chose this place and why Baekhyun wanted to visit it again: it was breathtaking. The whole park was green with tons of trees to sit under, benches coloured in white paint to make them fit the overall aesthetic of the place.

He was quite early since the food stalls were just opening and preparing for customers. Chanyeol made sure to spot the stall that sold the ice cream Baekhyun had taken a made snap of and included in his entry.

Overall, he sat on the bench near the tree and closed his eyes to relax and soaked in the setting sun, trying to grasp its last rays of sunshine that lit up his face. Chanyeol would’ve enjoyed that more but he jerked his head up when he heard a click of something just beside him.

When he got over his initial shock, he spotted a young man looking at him with an unreadable expression on his stoic face, hands clutching at the expensive camera which seemed to be the source of that sound.

“Can I help you?” Chanyeol turned to face him and gave a look to his camera. “Did you just take a picture of me?”

The camera man nodded and shamelessly sat behind him to show Chanyeol a picture of himself. “I thought you looked very beautiful with the sun on your face, so I took a picture. It’s actually for my project in university. I can delete it, if you want to.”

Chanyeol observed his own face. This man definitely had a thing for beautiful things. With his eyes closed and skin turned almost a golden colour due to the sun, the picture did give a pleasant feeling.

“I don’t mind.” He smiled. “I’m Chanyeol.”

The other man bowed his head a little before hiding his camera in his backpack. “I’m Sehun, nice to meet you. Wanna go for a walk?”

Chanyeol lifted his eyebrow at that question and gave Sehun a side smile, showcasing his dimple. “Already flirting with me?”

Nonetheless, he agreed and soon found himself just casually walking beside Sehun. They talked about everything, starting from Sehun’s burnt toast that he had a hard time swallowing for breakfast to their major and interests.

Sehun was also a student at SNU yet Chanyeol never saw him in the cafeteria or in the hallways. Sehun just laughed and told Chanyeol he usually spent his time on the other side of the building, where all of the art faculties were located.

Chanyeol never felt this calm. He could finally breathe with ease without having to worry about the ghost or his friend Kyungsoo. Ever since he moved in, he was always sitting on edge, ready to jump because of the fact that he shared his living space with a real ghost. And he even talked to him.

With Sehun by his side, casually walking and tapping on his shoulder whenever the younger saw a beautiful scenery and wanted to stop and take a photo, Chanyeol felt alive again.

Jongdae had been right. He should definitely find someone.

“Look! Ice cream,” Sehun tugged at Chanyeol’s hand and dragged him to the stall before turning to him once again and asking innocently. “What flavour do you want?”

Chanyeol realized it was the stall Baekhyun talked about in his diary.

He suddenly remembered why he chose to come to the park and felt guilty for using Sehun as a way to distract himself from his initial plan and the stress coming along with it.

“Uh, mint chocolate,” He answered a couple of moments later. He hated mint chocolate, but that’s the flavour Baekhyun had in the cone in the polaroid.

Chanyeol remembered how happy Baekhyun looked in the polaroid, ice cream smeared on his lips as he held a peace sign. The picture was obviously taken by Jaeho and Baekhyun looked like he was glowing with happiness and love and everything that still held the world together.

Baekhyun resembled light.

“Chanyeol, are you okay?” Sehun eyed him nervously since the law student hadn't said anything since then, holding his ice cream but not even tasting it once, not even minding how it was beginning to melt.

“Ah, yes, sorry. I just remembered something,” Chanyeol faked a smile and finally tasted his ice cream. The flavour was not that bad but it still reminded him of toothpaste.

They sat on a bench and continued talking until the sun finally hid behind the horizon and gave its place for the moon to take.

“I had so much fun accidentally meeting you tonight, Chanyeol.” Sehun said after they were done and simply enjoyed the crowd noises from the central part of the park where music started playing not that long ago. “Want to exchange numbers?”

His voice sounded hopeful and almost desperate to Chanyeol, eyes reflecting the fairy lights from a nearby food stall.

“Sure.” Chanyeol asked for Sehun’s number and quickly messaged him. “I guess I’ll talk to you later? I want to meet again.” He said with sincerity. He can continue following Baekhyun’s diary, but dating someone also seemed like a good idea to him.

When he got home, a mirror packaged carefully was left at his door. He smiled and took it inside, placing the object where the previous mirror was standing.

He took his time unwrapping it and admiring his own reflection, but he also hoped to catch a glimpse of the ghost.

However, no one appeared and Chanyeol left to make himself something to eat, receiving a text from Sehun along the process.

They texted for a bit before the other declared he was going to sleep and Chanyeol simply wished him a good night.

The lights started flickering when Chanyeol entered his bedroom again, reminding him that this was how he lived and how nothing changed since then. He couldn’t run away from reality no matter how hard he tried and how many people he took advantage of in the process.

“Hello, Baekhyun.” He said loudly to make sure the ghost heard him.

Chanyeol looked at the mirror and noticed the familiar figure sitting on his bed.

_ One flick. _

“Glad you can hear me,” Chanyeol made his way to the bed and sat on it. Baekhyun still looked somewhere else, not minding his presence, only turning his head around for a little as if he was searching for someone.

“I bought the mirror,” Chanyeoldeclared once again, waiting for an answer.

_ One flick of lights. _

“I know, you can see it, too. I’m sorry for breaking the other one.”

_ Two flicks of lights. _

“I’ve… I visited the park you were talking about in your entry. I really liked it. And the ice cream. Although I can’t understand why you like the flavour of toothpaste.”

He was met with flickering lights.

“Are you laughing?”

_ One flick. _

“I’m glad.” Chanyeol was about to turn off the lights. ”Baekhyun?”

One flick of lights had him smiling, imagining how Baekhyun would turn his head and look at him with a big smile.

“Thank you. For showing me the diary and the park, I mean. Goodnight, Baekhyun.”

That night, Chanyeol dreamed about going on a date with Baekhyun. When he woke up, he needed some time to come back to reality and realise his dream wasn’t real and Baekhyun was merely a ghost that lived in his apartment prior to him moving in. He could never be with Baekhyun, no matter how hard he wanted it to happen.

_ “I wish I could kiss you right now.” _

***

The next two weeks or so passed in a blur for Chanyeol. He couldn’t even focus on anything other than reading tons of books and research papers for his upcoming midterms and then travel to places described in Baekhyun’s diary.

He created a whole Google document dedicated specifically to Baekhyun, his friends and those places he had in the diary. It’s meant to keep track of weird abbreviations Baekhyun would often use in his entries that confused Chanyeol.

Reading – more like solving, to be honest – Baekhyun’s diary was harder than doing a complicated math test. He had no idea why the other liked to use abbreviations for names and places that often, but he guessed it was for privacy.

As he read more and more, however, he almost felt like he was living Baekhyun’s life again, realizing how he also inherited Baekhyun’s habits now.

He wakes up earlier just to catch that sunrise Baekhyun often talks about, trying to memorize the colours for the day. If Baekhyun was right, the colours would predict his whole mood for the upcoming day. Honestly, he wasn’t really sure about that, but he still woke up to look at how the colours blended nicely in the sky, creating a masterpiece.

Or how he would also make his coffee differently now, drinking only mild Americano instead of his black coffee, scolding hot, out of a broken cup he refused to throw away.

These little things made him Chanyeol. But these things also told me who Baekhyun actually was a person.

A totally different personality from his.

Aside from that, Chanyeol also got to know Sehun. And he deeply regretted how he used him on certain days when all he could see before his eyes was Baekhyun, Baekhyun, Baekhyun because he used Sehun as an excuse to visit places Baekhyun visited.

Sehun, of course, felt flattered when the taller invited him to dates everywhere in Seoul, picking the most unusual places such as a café located all the way in Bucheon. Chanyeol explained that the café served the best pastry, and even though Sehun didn’t want to upset him, the pastry was just average.

Nonetheless, he felt glad.

Chanyeol, too, seemed to feel something towards him and it showed. Even when he thought about Baekhyun, he made sure to text Sehun whenever he was free, or spent the weekends with him.

He liked Sehun.

Liked his bright personality, his rare smiles, the way he cared about him and cooked him meals when Chanyeol came to his place. He liked to take pictures of him and print them to give completely for free, saying that Chanyeol is handsome.

Maybe he liked Sehun as a friend, but it was still an attraction, so he kept mum and accepted when Sehun kissed him one night.

The kiss was simple and gentle, but instead of Sehun, Chanyeol felt like he kissed Baekhyun for some reason. Imagined like he was the one with the plush lips, soft and so delicious, and not Sehun.

Sehun was taller than Baekhyun, so Chanyeol often used that fact as a wake-up call for himself, because he couldn’t use Sehun like that. He just couldn’t do that to a person when Sehun was innocent and obviously felt something towards Chanyeol in a romantic way.

And even with these thoughts, his nagging morals, Chanyeol still continued to use Sehun, use his love, his attraction, his kindness to his own benefits.

A sudden knock woke Chanyeol up from his thoughts and memories and he walked up to the front door to open it and reveal a very happy Sehun with a box of popcorn and movies in his hands.

“So, the usual?” Sehun immediately walked in his bedroom where Chanyeol honestly tried to set everything up for their date night. “Oh, you bought a mirror.”

Chanyeol hummed and looked at his desk to make sure he hid the diary away from Sehun’s eyes. He doesn’t need to know about that.

They set everything up and Sehun sprawled on their bed, wiggling his eyebrows in a teasing manner for Chanyeol to come over and join him. Chanyeol just laughed and grabbed his laptop to get the movie started.

He hugged Sehun and pulled him close to his chest, enjoying the other’s presence and the fresh smell of perfume, trying not to think about Baekhyun laying on the same side as Sehun.

They talked yesterday. Well, if he could actually call it a conversation. He started telling Baekhyun about himself and the ghost responded with flickering lights as an indicator that he listened and followed him.

And he liked the silent response. Call him crazy, mentally ill or insane, but the ghost’s presence calmed him down. He felt like he lived in another universe where Baekhyun was real and responded to him.

In a weird way, but Chanyeol got to know Baekhyun from his entries. So yes, they were talking and getting to know each other.

The film Sehun picked was not interesting to Chanyeol – he preferred action movies and was happy upon discovering Baekhyun enjoyed them as well.

Sehun liked comedies and sci-fi the most, so Chanyeol tried to cover his yawn and hugged him tighter. “Do you like the movie?”

Sehun nodded and took a handful of popcorn to stuff it in his mouth. “I do, really. I hope you enjoy it, too.”

“I do.” He lied.

Chanyeol noticed how Sehun’s face got closer and closer to him, but tried to ignore it until Sehun kissed him, knocking the bowl of popcorn over.

Chanyeol sighed and responded to the kiss, taking the lead as he grabbed Sehun’s face and rolled them over so he would be on top of him.

He was so stressed from everything and releasing it by sex seemed like such a good idea to Chanyeol, so he quickly ripped Sehun’s shirt open and moved his hands on the other’s chest.

Chanyeol felt so, so good.

But what if Baekhyun could see him?

As Chanyeol learned from the entries, Baekhyun’s boyfriend was really… short-tempered. They just started dating and Baekhyun described everything in detail, telling how much he liked his boyfriend.

But something was off.

As Chanyeol read further and further, Baekhyun started talking less about important things. He used abbreviations and even some weird symbols when he started describing his relationship. Chanyeol still couldn’t find the meaning behind those weird symbols, but he tried to understand.

And knowing that Baekhyun could see him made a disgusting shiver run up his spine.

Chanyeol jerked away from Sehun as the latter regained his breath from the kiss, panting heavily with his chest still exposed.

“What’s the matter?” Sehun asked with concern.

“I- I don’t feel so good,” Chanyeol left Sehun on the couch and walked to the window to breathe some fresh air, calming down his nerves.

Sehun didn’t stay for long after that. They talked, but it felt like Sehun was just trying to receive an explanation from Chanyeol. When he failed, Sehun gathered his things, kissed him on the cheek and left with that.

Chanyeol felt like an absolute shithead. He honestly reminded himself of Baekhyun’s boyfriend, his behaviour right now was extremely similar. Not only was he using Sehun for his needs, only enjoying the care Sehun gave him and the occasional dates they had, although Chanyeol wouldn’t call them dates even with a gun pointed towards his head. 

Head heavy with buzzing thoughts, Chanyeol only found himself freezing half an hour later, dressed in nothing but an old pair of faded sweatpants. He stood in front of the open window and observed the streets, filled with couples walking home, stray animals running around and high school students coming back home. 

He simply couldn’t rest after what he did to Sehun, because Chanyeol wasn’t an asshole with no soul who got away with pretty much anything. No. He always, always made sure his partners - even one night stands - were comfortable with him. He cared about their pleasure and stopped if something wasn’t going right.

Chanyeol closed the window, deciding to stop creeping at couples, and sat on the edge of his bed, where Sehun was moments ago. The sheets still held the other’s smell of shampoo and his expensive cologne Sehun liked to wear especially for Chanyeol after he commented on the delightful smell. 

But nothing could get Baekhyun out of his head, Chanyeol realized as he lifted his gaze and looked in the mirror with hope, something exploding inside when he saw the familiar ghost, sitting near him on the bed and smiling at something. Chanyeol wanted to see that smile, wanted to memorize it for eternity, so he got closer to the mirror, making sure not to block his main view - Baekhyun.

The ghost was just sitting there, not being able to see him. Chanyeol didn’t really know if the ghost was ignoring him on purpose, but he still couldn’t take his eyes off the beautiful man in the reflection.

He stared at Baekhyun until the ghost disappeared in the night air, leaving nothing behind for Chanyeol to enjoy. The taller was restless still and went to bed, taking Baekhyun’s diary along with him. 

He flipped through the entries as Baekhyun explained his usual days and occasional dates with that shitty guy, being completely head over heels in love with him. The feelings oozed through his writing. Baekhyun decorated entries about Jaeho with colourful doodles and stickers, more often than not including polaroids and pictures of them in cafes, cinemas and parks.

One entry caught his attention after a while. It was simple, lacking colour and decorations. The writing was also different; if Chanyeol was not mistaking, it looked like Baekhyun wrote the entry in a car, his words bumpy and crooked. The page also had some damage to it, as if someone spilt water in big droplets on the paper.

Tears, Chanyeol realized.

_ Dear diary, _

_ Jaeho and I had our first fight today. I’m devastated right now and I feel like shit, I ran away from him. I’m on my way to Bucheon, to visit my mom and hopefully calm down _

_ I don’t know what I did to deserve this treatment from him. I’ve never seen him so angry and pissed _

The rest of the entry was crossed, so Chanyeol couldn’t finish it. He was able to understand one word - “Blossom”, Baekhyun’s favourite cafe back in his hometown.

And there he was, ordering bus tickets for tomorrow to Bucheon, just to visit the cafe.

_ “Chanyeol, I’m scared. Something isn’t adding up.” _

***

Chanyeol entered the little cozy cafe and breathed in the fresh smell of baked goods and brewed coffee. The cafe was quite packed, busy with students chatting after classes and studying in groups while drinking coffee.

The atmosphere was nice. Chanyeol understood why Baekhyun liked the cafe so much. He even memorized Baekhyun’s favourites: an americano and sweet milk cake with a scoop of caramel ice cream. Baekhyun seemed to have a sweet tooth and Chanyeol found it cute.

While he waited to make an order, Sehun decided to call him. Immediately, Chanyeol assumed Sehun was angry and it made his life even more miserable as last night’s events came flooding back to his mind, the guilt slowly eating his organs.

He declined the call and turned off the notifications, knowing too well Sehun will not leave him alone until the taller replied either to his texts or picked up a call from him. And that was not happening any time soon.

Chanyeol needed a break from Sehun, the younger one was starting to get nosy with his curiosity, oftentimes trying to read the diary Chanyeol made sure to hide well every time his boyfriend visited him.

And Chanyeol didn’t like that at all. They were barely three months into their relationship, but Sehun got jealous if Chanyeol spent time with Jongdae talking about Baekhyun or went on ‘Me’ trips which meant Sehun wasn't allowed to come along. 

“Hello, welcome to Blossom, what would you like to order today?” A smiling girl in her early twenties greeted Chanyeol and quickly registered his order, continuing to smile as she spoke. “You order exactly as my favourite regular customer! He was so nice,” She sighed and handed him the change. 

Chanyeol took it and eyed her. “What happened to him?”

The girl became beet red, her eyes comically wide. “He disappeared. I don’t know where he is now, but I wish I could meet Baekhyun again!” With that, she bowed and went to make Chanyeol’s order as he tried to process the information.

How he wished Baekhyun was near him at the moment. He wished it every single time he visited a place described in Baekhyun’s diary, imagining how he would talk to him and eat food with him. And Chanyeol probably will burn in hell for this, but he wished it was Baekhyun, not Sehun.

Chanyeol was burning with envy for that girl, because she saw Baekhyun, she interacted with him, she probably touched him at one point when taking money from him or giving him his order, and all of this made Chanyeol sad, almost angry.

Because he couldn’t do that.

All he had was a simple notebook, a distant memory of Baekhyun, and a mirror that could show the ghost to him.

After the cafe visit, things started to change for Chanyeol. The biggest change was his relationship with Sehun, or the lack of it. He simply chose to ignore the younger as much as he could, preferring to read Baekhyun’s diary when he had free time outside of the university, go to Baekhyun’s favourite cafes or watch his favourite movies.

The diary entries got darker and darker every single time he read them. It was mostly Baekhyun talking about his fights with Jaeho and how tired he was because of them, crying his heart out on paper and putting his pain there. It was around that time Baekhyun also started having thoughts about wanting to run away or escape his shitty boyfriend, writing about how unsafe he felt around him.

Chanyeol read the diary, made mental notes and memorized every single detail about Baekhyun. He watched the ghost in the mirror whenever he had time and looked at his facial features to remember them.

Sehun was mad at him and Chanyeol couldn’t blame him for that; after all, he was basically ghosting his boyfriend, not even giving him a proper reason as to why he was doing that. His boyfriend somehow found Jongdae and asked Chanyeol’s friend to keep an eye on him, and the music major told him about it.

Jongdae was the only one supporting him in this situation, he never judged and he always agreed to accompany him whenever a movie Baekhyun wanted to watch was out in cinemas. Jongdae also was the only one who cheered him up whenever Chanyeol lost hope and promised they would find Baekhyun.

They did examine his diary for that. To find a clue about his whereabouts, because the diary entries became short and dull. They lacked Baekhyun’s usual cheerful personality and all they had was thoughts about wanting to run away or disappear. 

Chanyeol asked Baekhyun - the ghost - where he was one time when they were chatting with each other (but it still was just Chanyeol talking to a flickering light bulb), but never received a proper answer. Instead, the ghost went silent and stopped answering, not even appearing in mirrors no matter how often Chanyeol looked for him in the reflection.

The ghost then replied with a bunch of flicks which were neither ‘Yes’ nor ‘No’, and Chanyeol sat on his bed before he asked the question.

_ “You don’t know?” _

_ One flick. _

After hearing that, the student tried even harder to search for the ghost, hoping he would find him with the help of his best friend.

With Christmas right around the corner, Chanyeol also came up with an idea on how to apologize to Sehun and calm his parents down at the same time. It was quite simple: he only had to invite Sehun to their usual Christmas family dinner.

And Sehun was quick to agree.

They were sitting at the table and Chanyeol tried to act as relaxed as he possibly could. His parents were busy chatting with Sehun, asking all sorts of questions like how they met and why was Chanyeol hiding their relationship from his own parents. Sehun didn’t seem to mind that and was happy to chat with Chanyeol’s mother while helping them set the table up. 

They brought cake and Mrs. Park already declared Sehun as the best partner for Chanyeol and joked about their wedding. That especially made Chanyeol laugh nervously as he was now questioning his feelings towards Sehun.

Sehun was a good guy, a great partner, but for Chanyeol, he was simply a friend. Someone to go to when Chanyeol felt overwhelmed from looking for Baekhyun, someone who could give him a false sense of happiness he yearned for.

Chanyeol honestly just wanted to end their relationship. He was obviously hurting Sehun by ditching him every single time the younger tried to reach for him during weekends, but Chanyeol was so busy searching for Baekhyun. The ghost actually started giving him hints about his whereabouts, but Baekhyun still couldn’t remember where he was at that moment.

So Chanyeol was trying his best to help him remember it.

His parents decorated the house well. Christmas lights were put all around the house, along with ornaments and other decorations. Chanyeol remembered how he used to help his mother bake cookies and decorate cakes while his father continued to decorate the Christmas tree. It all brought him memories he almost forgot. He smiled after noticing that his mother finally took the main dish out of the oven and placed it on the dining table.

When they were all ready to begin their dinner, Chanyeol’s mother said Yoora won’t be able to come today. Yoora sent her apologies and they were quick to light up the mood and start the dinner.

Chanyeol noticed how sad and almost irritated Sehun looked as he was trying to make it like he was eating, but in reality he was simply picking at his food and dipping the turkey in sauce, trying to coat the whole piece with it. Mrs. Park was chatting and seemed very happy about everything, though, completely unaware of the heavy tension filling the room.

“Sehun, sweetie,” She picked up a plate with yet another salad and put it on Sehun’s plate, obviously trying to make the other feel as comfortable as possible, despite Sehun’s protests. Chanyeol chuckled quietly; his mother never noticed when people were upset by something. “So how are you doing? Chanyeol treats you well, doesn’t he?”

Chanyeol tensed at that. He doesn’t treat Sehun right at all. He forgot about him, abandoned him and was overall a whole asshole in this relationship while Sehun - the sweetheart that he is - continued to forgive him over and over again.

It was just recently that Sehun started to act… cold towards Chanyeol, too, as if trying to show the taller what he was doing to him all this time. And yes, Chanyeol is aware of his horrible behaviour, but he can’t really do anything because he doesn’t feel the same - his “attraction” has now vanished.

All he can do now is tell Sehun about it and end the relationship without cries and screams, but it would be too cruel to say that during the holiday season and break Sehun’s heart, leaving it shattered, its pieces falling and hurting the younger even more. He has no heart to do that to him.

So he decided to wait. 

He could always say it after, right?

No. Chanyeol was so, so wrong about that, hoping Sehun would patiently wait for him and deal with their weird relationship. As they were still sitting at the table, Mrs. Park was too curious about them, asking the couple to share their  _ memorable  _ moments with them and act all lovey-dovey, because “You are both so cute!”.

Sehun grimaced at the phrase, but hid it from Chanyeol’s parents and cleared his throat before speaking. “Oh, Mrs. Park,” His eyes were glistening with something unfamiliar for Chanyeol; he's never seen Sehun this irritated. And he wasn’t expecting the next phrase to hit him so hard, feeling like Sehun just stabbed him with a knife while smiling innocently.

“He treats me so well!” Sehun smiled, but his eyes were dull. “He takes me to dates every single weekend, right,  _ Chanyeollie? _ ” The younger looked at him and suddenly, all eyes were on Chanyeol, waiting for an answer to this question.

“Oh, yes.” Chanyeol scratched his nape and proceeded to take something from the table and act as if it was the most delicious thing he had in his whole life. 

Mrs. Park giggled and asked a bunch of more questions, buying this whole act, but Chanyeol’s father just eyed his son with suspicion, still keeping mum and not saying a thing, even when his wife brought cake and forced them all to eat at least two slices before going.

Dinner ended on a questionable note and Chanyeol prayed no one would ask any more questions. It was fun in the beginning, but now the student simply wanted to go home. 

No, scratch that. He wanted to break up with Sehun and go home to drink his heart out and forget this nonsense of a dinner with Sehun acting all weird. Chanyeol gets it, he was the asshole in this relationship, but it was unnecessary to go and act as if he killed someone. Chanyeol was just confused about his feelings and thought he felt something towards the younger, but he was wrong. No need to act so bitchy about it.

As they said their goodbyes, Chanyeol and Sehun both left and came to Chanyeol’s apartment since they agreed to spend some time alone after dinner. And as much as Sehun irritated him right now, Chanyeol still decided to stick to their initial plan and got to his flat quite quickly.

“What the hell were you thinking?” The minute the door closed behind them, Chanyeol lifted his gaze to look at Sehun who seemed like he was simply taking a walk, completely innocent, not even minding Chanyeol’s presence here. “I get it, I’m an asshole, but you didn’t have to act so… bitchy about it. Thank you for ruining the night.” He didn’t plan on saying it all like that, but anger poisoned his rationality and turned off his brain. 

Chanyeol radiated anger, brows furrowed together, muscles tense as he walked past Sehun, only to be stopped. Sehun didn’t look happy either.

“You know what,” He quietly said, but his voice was laced with metal and rage. “It was all you from the beginning. You- You are the one who’s always ditching me last minute and then disappearing somewhere! You are always obsessed with certain cafes, movies, heck, you are obsessed with Bucheon for some reason!”

Sehun massaged his temples and looked around the flat as he was trying to find something specific. Chanyeol saw how the other was almost shaking, ready to explode like a bomb. He was not ready for it. 

Chanyeol never wanted to fight with Sehun. He only wanted to break up peacefully and give Sehun freedom and stop dragging him in his messy life. Sehun didn’t deserve this kind of treatment after being nothing but a kind and forgiving boyfriend.

Deep in his own emotions, Chanyeol noticed how Sehun stormed in his room and picked up the diary, flipping it open and quickly reading through the words before lifting his gaze up.

“Is this your boyfriend? Are you cheating on me?” Sehun demanded, narrowing his eyes. His fingers still gripped the diary and Chanyeol almost thought that Sehun was going to rip the pages out from how angry he was. 

“You could’ve just told me!” Sehun finally broke down and let tears fall down his cheeks, his legs giving up on him and letting his body fall on the floor, crying his eyes out. 

Chanyeol stood there, in the middle of his bedroom, looking down on a crying Sehun, observing how his shoulders shook with every sob, tears wetting the carpet. Strangely enough, he felt nothing towards his boyfriend. 

“Sehun,” Chanyeol quietly called him. “Let’s break up.”

Sehun wiped his tears away, looking at him with pure shock on his face. “W-What?”

“You heard me. Let’s break up. You’re right, I feel nothing towards you, and want to date another guy. So,” Chanyeol scratched his nape and moved to open the door for Sehun. “Let’s break up. And please leave.”

Guilt was eating him alive at that point. Nothing could compare to that burning feeling deep in his stomach as he watched Sehun rise on his feet, and, obviously still very much in shock, leave his apartment, throwing the diary to his feet.

Sehun didn’t even spare him a glance, but Chanyeol deserved it. Every second of it.

So, of course, he got drunk after that. So drunk he could barely stand on his legs without any support, eyes unfocused. He looked at the diary and flipped it to the last page - the only entry he had left to read.

_ Dear diary, _

_ I’m here in my new apartment for a fresh start, ready to forget about him and the whole mess I experienced with him. I’m truly happy - the happiest person I could ever be _

_ I actually have a new boyfriend, but I found a ring in his closet, so I suppose I could say I’m his future fiance. His name is Chanyeol _

Chanyeol rubbed his eyes and reread the sentence again, thinking this was his drunk hallucinations playing mind tricks with him, but no. The entry really did say Chanyeol. And not even that, but Baekhyun then proceeded to describe that  _ Chanyeol  _ and the description perfectly matched him. He was that Chanyeol.

But it didn’t make sense. The entry was dated last year, Baekhyun was not alive, and Chanyeol never met him when he was. How could Baekhyun know him if they never met?

He didn’t exactly know why he decided to look through the diary once again, but when he did, he was ready to throw it away as far as he possibly could. Now, instead of the name of the guy Baekhyun had dated, it was  _ him. _ His name was everywhere and it physically pained him to see how Baekhyun described their dates.

This couldn’t be real, right? He was going insane at this point. 

Jongdae was right. He shouldn’t have touched the mirror, he shouldn’t have bothered to look for Baekhyun and to investigate this issue. He could’ve just moved somewhere else and settled down for a peaceful life. He could’ve even dated Sehun, for fuck’s sake. 

Thoughts started to feel heavy in his head and Chanyeol got up from the floor, fingers massaging his temples as he took his coat and went outside of his apartment to call Jongdae. 

As he was nearing his friend’s apartment, Chanyeol failed to notice a big, wet spot on the stairs, and slipped, but was quick to hold onto the rails to stabilize himself. 

After a few heavy knocks and an agonizing silence, Jongdae opened the door, rubbing his sleepy eyes and yawning. “Are you drunk?” He asked.

Chanyeol nodded and grabbed his hand. 

“Chanyeol, what happened?” Jongdae sounded… scared. His eyes were burning holes in Chanyeol and his tone didn’t help the situation either. Jongdae tried to pull Chanyeol inside his own apartment, but the taller man refused and swayed a little after that.

“I broke up with Sehun.” Chanyeol answered and continued without giving Jongdae a chance to respond. “And I finished reading Baekhyun’s diary. My name was in there.”

“What?”

“My name! He said I’m his new boyfriend and-” Chanyeol was restless, looking for the diary in his hands, only to realize he left the notebook in his bedroom. “Jongdae, he really wrote that, please, you have to believe me.” 

“Chanyeol, I’m usually very supportive, but don’t you think this is a borderline obsession?”

Chanyeol turned around, feeling like the alcohol made everything move in slow motion for him, and was about to reach his entrance door, but slipped on the same wet spot, but this time, he had no time to reach for the rail.

It was so sudden - how everything started spinning, along with the loud, crashing sounds he heard in a distance, and Jongdae’s scream. 

Pain shoots all over his body.

And everything went black.

_ “Chanyeol, Jongdae has been acting very weird lately. When will you wake up?” _

***

Chanyeol felt like he was floating in darkness. Nothing felt real, he wasn’t even sure it was his vision. His whole body felt numb and unfamiliar to him when he tried to lift his arm and try to touch the darkness, but nothing. 

The room - was this even a room? - was deadly quiet, the only sound he could hear was his own inner voice and his thoughts racing inside his head, trying to understand what was happening here.

_ “Try talking to him a bit more, Mr. Byun.”  _ Chanyeol suddenly heard a voice coming from a thick layer of something, sounding muffled and unclear.  _ “They say people can hear you. It will give your husband the power to fight.” _

Husband? Chanyeol tried to focus on the voice, but it got silent again. And who was Mr. Byun? Where was he after he fell? Where was Jongdae? 

Thoughts were starting to make his head hurt. Chanyeol tried to move his head, to move his fingers, but still, his whole body resembled a rock. With the darkness surrounding him, it almost felt unreal. 

“ _ Hey, Chanyeol,”  _ The voice was oddly familiar, but still sounded so strange to him. The sadness and the despair in that voice made Chanyeol shiver mentally as he tried to look for the source of the voice. “ _ I hope you can hear me.”  _

Chanyeol heard something that sounded close to sobs but decided to ignore it, choosing to focus on just the voice  _ “Please wake up. It’s been almost two weeks and I think I’m losing my mind.” _

_ “Baekhyun? You’re still here?” _

Baekhyun? The Baekhyun he’s been looking for all this time? The one and only?

_ “Hey, Jongdae. I’ll go home soon.” _

_ “Cheer up. Doctors said he might wake up soon.” _

Who is going to wake up? Where is he? Why is Jongdae talking to Baekhyun? All those questions were circling in Chanyeol’s head and he tried to lift his hand.

The sounds became much clearer, he could hear the strange beeping in the background, as well as the sound of a plastic chair screeching against the flooring. He tried to move once again and heard a shocked gasp.

_ “Jongdae, I think he’s moving. He’s moving! He’s waking up! Call the doctors!” _

_ Chanyeol slowly rose to his feet and looked around the room as he was trying to understand what he was doing here. He turned around when a voice called for him and a smile bloomed on his face when he finally noticed the only person that mattered to him. It was Baekhyun, standing there with his arms wide open and silently asking for Chanyeol to hug him. _

_ And who was Chanyeol to deny? _

_ He squeezed Baekhyun in his arms and almost teared up: was this even possible or was this his dream?  _

_ “Chanyeol. You have to wake up. Baekhyun is not safe.” _

_ He wanted to ask what that meant, how should he interpret the whole thing, but suddenly, memories of the accident start flooding in. It was all so blurry and messy, Chanyeol only heard his own screams and Baekhyun’s cries when he tried to shake his body and keep him conscious while they waited for the paramedics to arrive. _

_ And then… his Baekhyun split into two. The first one was the one that was in the mirror with him, with gentle smiles and droopy eyes. The second one, though, was like a polar opposite, smirking as he was ready to jump and eat Chanyeol alive. _

_ And then Chanyeol woke up.  _

***

Chanyeol can’t really feel anything other than pain - his whole chest feels like it was set on fire, throat scratchy, mouth gaping as he tried to gasp for air and get everything off of his body, but to no avail. He can hear faint beeping noises around him that were muffled by loud voices. Countless hands were grabbing him and trying to do something to him, he couldn’t even protest, his whole body felt like jelly.

He doesn’t let this feeling linger in his head any longer. 

Turns out, he was in a coma the whole time and the whole thing with the mirror was simply a dream he had experienced. His Baekhyun is healthy and glowing, although his tired eyes do tell him how many sleepless nights he had spent near his hospital bed, waiting for Chanyeol to finally wake up from a coma. 

Chanyeol asked how he ended up in this mess, but Baekhyun always shushed him up with a kiss and tried to change the topic. The doctors also were too quiet for his liking and Chanyeol had a feeling they were ignoring him on purpose. 

And Baekhyun - although the same Baekhyun he fell in love with - was different. His habits were different, the way he moved was different, even his gaze seemed different. Chanyeol tried to blame it on the accident, but he needed answers. 

Where is Jongdae?

And countless nights turned into weeks with Chanyeol waiting to be discharged from the hospital. Baekhyun visited him only during the evenings and avoided questions as much as possible, saying how the house is quiet without him and how their dogs are waiting for him to return back.

“When are we going home?” Chanyeol asked the minute Baekhyun walked into his hospital room.

The other one smiled and took off his coat to hang it on a chair and walk towards Chanyeol, giving him a kiss on the cheek.

Even the kiss felt different. Chanyeol recently got a grip of his memories and remembered everything about his life before the coma. Something felt off, but he couldn’t understand why he felt that way.

“Oh, I think I forgot to tell you,” Baekhyun smiled and kissed him again. “Today! Pack your bags, we’re going home.” 

Chanyeol narrowed his eyes. “You don’t sound very optimistic about it, though. What is happening, Baekhyun?”

“What do you mean, baby?” Baekhyun started helping Chanyeol pack his bags, face all smiling and enthusiastic while his eyes were sad and almost angry. “Finish up, I’ll go find the doctor.”

Chanyeol nodded, not wanting to start a fight. He walked up to a mirror to brush his hair, shuddering when he saw Baekhyun standing near him in the mirror  _ once again _ .

This can’t be happening.

“Babe? You ready?”

Chanyeol snapped out of his trance and walked away, although his mind played the picture of Baekhyun trying to say something to him in the mirror over and over again.

The whole ride home he couldn’t maintain a straight face. Baekhyun was driving and Chanyeol was able to collect his thoughts as he took his time in observing his husband. It was so weird to notice how much he had changed over the span of two weeks. The past Baekhyun was loud and cheerful, clinging to Chanyeol every time he had the chance of doing so.

And this Baekhyun? This Baekhyun was too quiet and too distant, never really answering his questions or even engaging in a conversation with him. Chanyeol had no idea how that could happen so fast. 

They got home and Chanyeol immediately went upstairs to change in his usual clothes and wash away the very obvious smell of the hospital. He wasn’t a fan of smelling like wipes meant for sanitation. Baekhyun didn’t even question him and Chanyeol decided to ask about it later. 

He locked the door to the bathroom and started undressing, but the door opened to reveal Baekhyun with a spatula in his hand. “Do you want rice today?” He asked.

Chanyeol eyed the door in confusion. He was so sure he locked the door and he even checked it, so how did Baekhyun manage to open it?

“Chanyeol?”

“Oh, um. Yeah, sure.” Chanyeol smiled and waited for the other to close the door, locking it again and waiting for the footsteps to disappear. He turned around, facing the mirror, and almost fainted when Baekhyun appeared again. Lights started flickering again and Chanyeol felt like he was in a coma once again. 

He wanted to get closer, but Baekhyun mouthed something and began to write directly on the mirror. The surface got foggy, as if Chanyeol had already taken a shower and was standing there. 

_ ‘It’s not me.’ _

Who is not him? What does it mean?

Chanyeol wanted to use the same method of asking questions again, but a knock on his door interrupted him.

“Chanyeol? Is everything okay?”

Baekhyun in the mirror disappeared.

What was happening?

The Baekhyun that stood near him was eyeing the mirror in suspicion as if he knew what was happening, but when Chanyeol asked him why he was standing there for so long, he just smiled and quickly went out the door.

***

Chanyeol chewed on his rice and watched how Baekhyun was busy trying to mix his rice with vegetables and meat. That, also, wasn’t like Baekhyun.

And he decided he had enough.

“You never mixed up your rice with meat and vegetables, you know,” He said nonchalantly and waited for a reaction, trying to suppress the chills on his spine when Baekhyun looked at him like he was about to murder Chanyeol.

“Oh, um, yeah.” Baekhyun stood up and put some more rice in his bowl. “I just like doing it now.”

Only now he realized how wrong and weird Baekhyun has been acting in front of him. He looked at him, eyes widening when Baekhyun didn’t reflect in the mirror as he walked past it. 

Everything was adding up now. Baekhyun was waiting for him, he was calling for him when he was in a coma. Although Chanyeol couldn’t exactly recall everything he did there - the diary entries were the most prominent thing in his mind - he remembered how a voice kept telling him he needed to wake up. 

So, was this the sign he needed?

Suddenly, the mirror almost collapsed and Chanyeol heard a thud as if someone was banging on it. Baekhyun turned around and went to look for the source and only added to the scene when he went directly to the mirror, although no one knew where the sound was coming from exactly.

“Who are you?” He asked, not allowing Baekhyun to sit down. His hands flew up and shook his shoulders. “Who the fuck are you?”

Baekhyun was confused. “What do you mean? I’m Baekhyun.”

“You’re not Baekhyun. You don’t act like him, all your hobbies are different. And- and you are not reflecting in the mirror.” 

“Ah, you’ve finally noticed.” A smirk painted itself on Baekhyun’s face, his hair suddenly turning white with claws replacing his usual, human nails. He easily brushed away Chanyeol’s hands away from his shoulders, his own hand flying up to grab at his neck to choke him. “You’re right. I’m not your lovely Baekhyun.”

They walked over to the mirror, Baekhyun - or whoever that is - showing him the real Baekhyun, who was banging on the mirror and screaming silently. He looked desperate, trying to escape the mirror. 

“What are you, then?”

“Oh, baby,” Baekhyun licked his earlobe and smirked, loving how Baekhyun in the mirror started banging even harder. He could feel chills running down Chanyeol’s spine as realisation slowly started filling his brain. “I’m your worst nightmare. It was so fun to play with your mind when you were in a coma, twisting you and letting you suffer. Your lovely Baekhyunee even helped me with it, right?”

Baekhyun in the mirror mouthed a big  _ NO _ and Chanyeol got ready to fight with the creature holding him, but got pushed towards the mirror. He waited for the pain, waited for the mirror to break, but nothing happened. 

Instead, he just slid into the mirror and fell into the arms of his real Baekhyun. 

“Chanyeol, Chanyeol,” Baekhyun wiped the bangs away from his face and hugged him, bringing Chanyeol close to his body. “Chanyeol, it wasn’t me. He used me.”

“Used you for what?” Chanyeol asked, his voice trembling. He was a step away from having a breakdown.

“He… it needs nightmares to survive. And your coma was the perfect source for them.Watch,” Baekhyun’s slender finger pointed towards the mirror and Chanyeol felt his blood boil as a second Chanyeol walked past the mirror right into the arms of that Baekhyun.

It wasn’t him. That Chanyeol had white hair and dead, blue eyes that were piercing through his soul. He followed that Baekhyun like a puppet and did everything the other ordered him to do. Their house started turning dark, almost black, and dead souls - Chanyeol recognised them, they were all from his coma dreams - started appearing out of nowhere and gathering around Baekhyun and Chanyeol.

“Should we start our plan?” He heard them say. “Jongdae is next.”

He looked at Baekhyun and saw tears well up in his eyes.

“They are going to kill everyone.” He sobbed.

fin.


End file.
